The Monster We Made
by Stuart Johnson
Summary: We trained her. We taught her. We raised her to godhood. She brought us down to earth.
1. Downfall

We were once gods. We were the sun and the moon. Rulers of a kingdom built on kindness, love, and friendship. Our subjects lived in peace. Mortals and immortals coexisted peacefully. It was harmony defined.

Then along came a unicorn.

She was nothing special then. Just another unicorn applying for lessons in magic. They came by the thousands everyday. They were filed away in various colleges and classes, trained in magic, and never heard from again. They were not special. This unicorn was different. The raw amount of power she exerted... it was exhilarating. Nopony had demonstrated this level of sheer magical ability since Starswirl the Bearded.

Naturally, she became a student. Not just any student. She became a student to the Sun herself. For years, she studied and trained and honed her magical abilities, until she was the most skilled magician in Canterlot.

That was not enough.

We had seen her talent. Her talent was magic, and magic, as we all know, is friendship.

She was shipped out at once. Sent to Ponyville with the task of making friends. It was a test. She did make friends, though not of her own volition. When push came to shove however, she came through. She, along with her five friends, defeated Nightmare Moon. Nightmare moon was an Alicorn. A god.

The six had felled a god.

From then on, she became our champion. She and the five faced dragons, hydras, manticores, sea serpents, parasprites. They faced everything. And they grew stronger. Every encounter brought them closer together. It strengthened their friendship.

It strengthened their magic.

Their next task was to face off with an ancient opponent of ours. Discord. He was chaos incarnate. The epitome of wickedness. The ultimate enemy. Again, the six felled him. They then faced off with the Changeling Queen herself, and again defeated her. Then, it was King Sombra. Again, the six were victorious.

They were unstoppable.

This was where harmony began to dissolve.

We recognized that she was beyond the normal limits for a unicorn, even an exceptional one. My sister and I gazed with pride over the student we had created. Admired her the way an artist admire's his painting. She was beautiful. She was powerful. She was magic.

She WAS magic.

It was her destiny. It always had been. She had become her talent.

_"She's magic, Luna. Just as you're the moon and I'm the sun. She's become like us, sister. She's become... godlike."_

She was godlike alright, but she was no god. This was something we sought to rectify. And so we did. She passed from unicorn to Alicorn. From mortal to Immortal.

From the creation, to a creator.

She ascended to the pantheon. She had become royalty. She had become a god.

She worked tirelessly for years as the mortal's new god. A god of friendship and harmony. A god of magic. She was beloved by all. The ponies exalted her, cried her name as she walked past, praised her from the rooftops and on the street corners. The mortals loved their new god.

It was then that she made a simple request. She wanted a kingdom.

_"Nothing too large or too fancy. Just a little slice of Equestria to call my own."_

We gave in to her. How could we refuse? She was our greatest triumph. Our hearts swelled with pride at the sound of her name.

We spoiled her.

She came to expect getting her way. After all, she was a goddess. The mortals never refused her, and the we the immortals always bowed to her demands. She had proven to be reliable in the past, why should we have doubted her now? Her every whim was met, either by us or by the mortals.

Then she made the request we could not meet.

_"After all, I am the element of Magic. Shouldn't I be the one to decide what magic the mortals can use?"_

She had gone too far. She wished to exercise control over the mortals. Our subjects. She was a god. She had her own kingdom. She had no right to demand of us.

Oh but she did. She was now our equal. We had no right to demand of her. The only way to demand now, was by force.

She was a fast learner.

My sister spoke out against her, demanded that she respect her fellow Alicorns, but to no avail. There was a shattering of glass, a sickening crunch, and an earsplitting scream. Thus ended the reign of my sister.

The creation rebelled against its creator.

I attempted to undo what she had done, but it was too late. The sun lay dead, and the moon was waning. Cadence made her own valiant effort to stop the student, but she too was crushed beneath the hooves of the usurper. I was the only one remaining, and I am ashamed to say that I fled rather than fought. I fled to find the remaining five elements.

Honesty, Loyalty, Laughter, Generosity, and Kindness remained.

They came to my aid in a heartbeat. None of them wished to strike down their former friend. Understandable.

But the friend they had known did not exist. She was dead now. All that remained was the goddess. A twisted malformation of magic. Twisted, dark magic, but magic incarnate nonetheless.

Our quest failed.

She could not be reasoned with.

She could not be destroyed.

Without magic to hold them all together, the elements were useless. The remaining five bearers were struck down where they stood. Canterlot's throne room ran red with their blood. With them, all hope died.

I was forced to flee for my life. My only hope is that this memoir survives. If anypony can read this, learn from our mistake.

Friendship and Magic are one and the same, and both can turn dark in an instant.

Signed by,

Luna the Last True Goddess of Equestria


	2. Uprising

I only wanted what was best for her.

From the very start, that was all I ever wanted. She arrived the same way they all did, but she was far greater than they. She was, without a doubt, the next great. Or rather, she would be.

She was strong, but she lacked focus. She lacked the restraint necessary to be one of the greats. But, with the right training, she would be great.

She would be the best.

I treated her the way I would have treated one of my own flesh and blood. I gave her all the love, kindness, and freedom she desired, giving her a little nudge in the right direction when needed. She grew. She prospered. She strengthened.

It was a thing of beauty really. The transition from neophyte to master is always an exiting one to watch. I saw it first in Starswirl the Bearded. He began by moving pebbles, and ended with moving mountains. It was thrilling then, and incredible now. Everything she was set to learn, she did.

She was a fast learner.

I tried to find a spell she could not learn. Giving wings to a pony. Walking on clouds. Age manipulation. Teleportation. All of these were master level spells. Things that even the oldest and most skilled of magicians had difficulty performing. She mastered them in days. She was a genius level unicorn with magical abilities that put all others to shame. It was... godlike.

After weeks and weeks of planning, I formulated a plan to make her what she was destined to be.

She was destined to become a god. She was magic, the strongest of the six elements.

We made her a god.

She was the child I could never have.

She was my magnum opus.

She was my undoing.

_"A kingdom? Of course! It will be a perfect opportunity for you to learn how to rule! You'll be granted your own kingdom right away!"_

It wasn't a big kingdom. Some small territories out on the border. She had asked for nothing fancy, and that was what I gave her. With it, she could learn about her new role as a goddess. I gave her what I thought was best for her.

She never got the chance.

We, the Alicorns, were called together to judge the actions of a unicorn. This unicorn had used what some considered to be "illegal magic". We debated the topic for a bit, but the conversation was dominated by the student.

_"After all, I am the element of Magic. Shouldn't I be the one to decide what magic the mortals can use?"_

This unicorn was not a resident of my students kingdom. She had no control over my subject. What she claimed was control over magic itself. The idea was absurd. I did not claim dominion over every creature that had ever seen sunlight. How could she claim that anypony connected to magic was her domain? If so, she controlled anypony who had ever felt friendship.

I had felt friendship.

I had felt it for my nephew, Blueblood. For my sister, Luna. For Cadence my niece.

I had felt friendship for her.

I had loved her like my kin. Treated her as if she were my own child. I had taught her. Trained her. Nurtured her. I had made her a god. I had raised her from the common muck and mire of equinity to be my protege. She was my student. My one and only personal student. The one I had selected from thousands, nay, millions of unicorns who wished to grow beneath my wings.

I chose her. She was special.

Her power and potential were one thing, yes. But she was chosen for something deeper. I saw in her a fire. A fire that hungered to learn magic. Never before had I seen a unicorn attack the books and study with such great gusto.

Not since I myself had done so, many eons ago. I saw so much of myself in her. For her to abuse her position in this way was unthinkable. Something had to be done. She had to be shown the error of her ways, before her errors destroyed her.

I would not let her be destroyed.

I came to her in private. I told her that what she was doing was wrong. I pleaded. I begged.

She refused.

I would not let her be destroyed.

I told her that I would not stand for this. I could not bear to watch as she corrupted herself. I would stop her from destroying herself. By force if necessary.

_"I made you what you are, Twilight! You are my student, and I-"_

_"I **was** your student Princess. You made me your equal, and you will treat me as such!"_

With that, the beautifully ornate stained glass windows, each depicting scenes of my student's triumphs, shattered into pieces. The drove of razor shards was hurled at me, lacerating my flesh. Every cut felt like a dagger piercing my skin. I was unconcerned with those.

I was concerned with the dagger that had pierced my heart.

Everything I had done. All of my training, love, and kindness. All for naught.

The student had surpassed the master.

After the glass attack, I felt my bones shatter as the glass before them had. They cracked like twigs beneath the magical pressure my protege exerted. I screamed.

Not from pain.

But from sorrow.

I wailed. Hot tears streamed from my eyes, their salt stinging against my wounds. Blood and tears mingled upon my broken visage, as I stared up at my student. I screamed.

She had been a daughter to me once. Now she dispatched me like a stranger. Such was the end for me. A creator felled by the monster she made. I had taken her in, and made her what she was.

I only wanted what was best for her.


	3. Heartbreak

She was once my sister.

Well, sister in law anyways. I had been married to her brother Shining Armor for several years when it happened.

"It" being her transformation into an Alicorn. It was an exciting time for all of us really. A mortal being lifted to our level? Such a thing was unheard of! Not even old Starswirl had reached that high. It had long been held that his feats had set the record. That they had created a sort of magical ceiling above which no magician could be raised.

She broke through the ceiling.

She shattered Starswirl's concrete legacy like glass and kept on soaring. It was amazing.

I had experienced just how powerful her magic was firsthand, when she saved me (and my entire wedding party) from the Changeling army and their dark Queen. She had been reluctant to trust me at first, but that was long since past. We had grown closer together, to the point of being like sisters. It was wonderful really, having someone so close.

That was until she became a goddess.

At first, it was great. She was on my level now. There was so much we would do together now that she was a god. It would be great.

Well, I thought it would be anyways.

She always seemed to be busy now. As it seemed that everypony all the world over constantly required assistance from their new goddess of magic. Everypony everywhere had some sort of minor dispute that could only be solved with her magic.

She was slowly suffocated by her workload. I began to see less and less of her. It was as if she was dead.

Then, as suddenly as she had vanished, she resurfaced. There had been an incident in Ponyville. Some unicorn had attempted to use some sort of amulet to increase her own magical abilities. Apparently, it was not the first time this item had been used for nefarious purposes either. Something needed to be done. The talisman, as well as the unicorn who had abused it, were summoned to Canterlot to stand trial for their crimes. Following the trial, it would be decided what should be done with this troublesome amulet.

Although it was a trial, and would likely be a bore, it was still exciting to me. I would get to see my sister in law for the first time in months. Even if it was only for a few moments, it would be a joy to spend it with her.

I had no idea I would be spending my final moments with her.

She was adamant that this matter fell within her domain.

_"After all, I am the element of Magic. Shouldn't I be the one to decide what magic the mortals can use?"_

My Aunt was just as firm with her.

_"Twilight, you are not the only Alicorn. We're all equals, and the matter will be decided among all of us. End of discussion."_

Hours later, my aunt lay dead at the hooves of the student she had so lovingly created. The same pony who had rescued me from an army of Changlings had murdered my aunt in cold blood. My heart shattered like the glass that riddled my aunt's corpse.

They say that when a heart breaks, it can grow back.

My heart grew back, but it had regrown into a twisted shadow of itself.

All the love I had felt for her had died. In its place was anger. She had betrayed me. She had betrayed us all. She was no different from the Changling Queen. Both impersonated that which I loved, and both stabbed me in the back. My husband and I were instrumental in felling the Changling Queen. We would again be instrumental in felling this Monster.

At least, we should have been. My husband could not believe what had happened. He could not understand why the sister he had known and loved would turn on those who had nurtured her. He could not understand because he had not seen. He hadn't seen the blood, the glass, the corpse... He had not heard. He was deaf to the screaming of my aunt as her student murdered her. He had not heard the cracking and splintering of bone and marrow.

He was blind, deaf, and paralyzed.

I resolved that I would carry out my mission without him. Though our magic was bound to one another, I was still a goddess. I still stood as her equal.

_"You are nothing to me. You never were."_

She had struck the first blow of our battle. She clouted me across the cheek with the back of her hoof. I felt it sting. I tasted blood.

_"My brother was wrong to have married you."_

I flailed wildly, lashing out with both hoof and spell to no avail. She wasn't my equal anymore. Perhaps she never had been.

She was my superior.

My two forelegs snapped like twigs. I fell to the throne room floor, kneeling before the one I had called "sister". I could fight no longer. With my body and will broken, I bowed before her.

I coughed up blood. I struggled to breathe.

I watched as she drew the glass shards from my aunt's corpse, and melded them together into a crudely fashioned sword. The blade was lifted above my head, and hovered there for a moment.

I did not cry. I did not scream. I faced my impending death with silence. With a face set like stone, I merely dribbled a constant stream of crimson from my lips to the floor. I resolved to be strong. My aunt had died screaming and begging. Her sister had fled in terror. Only two goddesses remained; Myself and the Usurper.

I would not cry. I would not scream.

The blade fell upon my neck.

I died proud.

I died as a goddess.


	4. Liar

They say honesty is the best policy. They're right you know. It's always better to tell the truth than it is to lie. Why, I've been working Sweet Apple Acres and selling off my produce since I was a filly, and I've never once made a crooked deal!

Honesty. That's me alright.

I'd been working on the farm when it happened. Princess Luna came to me and said she needed me for something important. I thought that those fancy Canterlot ponies had finally gotten a craving for some of my sweet apple pies. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Something seemed... off about the Princess. Looked like a storm cloud was hanging over her head. I asked her what was going on. I wished I wouldn't have.

_"Celestia is dead, and Twilight Sparkle is responsible. I am here to gather the remaining five elements. They may be Equestria's last hope."_

I just couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. Twilight? A murderer? It sounded like one of Pinkie Pie's bad jokes. But, as I soon found out, this was no joke. The other four came, and with heavy hearts, we boarded a train bound for Canterlot.

When we arrived in the city, I was shocked. The last time we had been to Canterlot, the streets were bustling with ponies, the air was heavy with the smell of perfume and cologne, and the din of juicy gossip rang out in all directions. Now, it felt like a ghost town. The town was silent, empty, and, for lack of a better word, dead. The faint echo of the wind whistling though the decadent white columns was the only sound. It felt scary and foreboding, not warm and welcoming as it had in the past.

We delved deeper and deeper into the city, the unrelenting silence nearly palpable as we neared the palace. There were no guards. No royal court. No mob of admirers trying to sneak their way in. Only the soft clip clopping of hooves against stone as the six of us breached the deserted gates.

The Princess lead us through the courtyard, and into the throne room.

The floor was spattered with crimson flecks of blood. Two princesses, Cadence and Celestia, lay dead. I... I cannot even begin to describe the sight. It was a nightmare from which I could not awake. I swallowed the lump in my throat, and fought back two urges. The first was the urge to cry, the second the urge to vomit.

What Luna had said was true. Twilight Sparkle, my friend, had become a murderer. I didn't know how, and I didn't know why. Those things didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was the harsh reality I faced.

We were Equestria's last hope.

I was honesty.

_"Twilight Sparkle, you have committed crimes against Equestria, against the Royal Court, and against Harmony itself. You have made yourself an enemy of Equestria, and thus an enemy of Harmony. Prepare to face justice."_

I felt an all too familiar sensation start to take me over. The Elements were at work now. I was lifted from the floor and surrounded by the glow of honesty. Yet, somehow, it all felt wrong. The Elements always put my mind at ease, but now, my head was swimming. What would happen to Twilight? Would she be turned to stone, like Discord? Was she perhaps possessed, as Nightmare Moon had been? Or would she be destroyed entirely?

These questions bounced about in my head as I hovered. I watched as a bright orange light engulfed my body, and twisted like a corkscrew to join five other streaks in a brilliant rainbow of magic. It hurtled towards our former friend, and I awaited the imminent collision.

_"Enough!"_

The collision never came.

There was a flash of pure white light, and I was thrown back. I tumbled over and over until finally slamming into the marble wall. I had a large gash on the back of my head, but I was otherwise unharmed. Apparently, I was the lucky one.

I wearily rose to my hooves to survey the damage. The room had been rocked by a massive explosion, no doubt caused by Twilight. The other five were badly injured. Some might have been dead. I couldn't tell. The whole world seemed to be shaking. Or maybe that was just me.

My friend turned enemy stood in the center of the throne room, surrounded by cracks of bright purple lightning. She was terrifying, yet beautiful at the same time. She looked like a real goddess.

_"Listen Twilight. I'm your friend! I always have been, and I always will be. C'mon sugarcube, I'm tellin' the truth!"_

My plights fell on deaf ears. I knew now that there was no way out. I had failed. We all had. We were all going to die.

Then, I heard a voice.

I didn't "hear" it, with my ears, but rather felt it. I felt it inside my head.

It was her. She said only one word to me.

_"Liar."_

That single word hit me harder than any insult ever had. I'd never told a lie in my life. I was the Element of Honesty.

I choked back the tears. Now was not the time to cry. Trembling, I made my way over to Fluttershy, who was now sobbing pitifully. I couldn't bear to look at her. Her back legs had been torn to shreds, leaving her unable to move. I placed a hoof on her as she blubbered, never taking my eyes off of the goddess. Her tiny frame was shuddering violently as she cried, and I was unable to comfort her.

The goddess looked at us. I knew what was coming next.

Fluttershy asked if we would be okay.

I lied.


	5. Cruelty

I've always been a bit of a fraidy-cat. I was scared of heights, earthquakes, fires, loud noises, the dark... Well, let's just say I have a lot of fears.

But sometimes, even the fraidy-cat can be brave. I might have been scared out of my wits doing so, but I've stood my ground against bears, manticores, dragons, minotaurs, and many more! It wasn't exactly me being brave all those times though. I always had my best friends by my side. They were the brave ones, not me. But, even though I was terrified everytime we went on an adventure, I always kept coming.

That's what Kindness was all about.

_"Celestia is dead, and Twilight Sparkle is responsible. I am here to gather the remaining five elements. They may be Equestria's last hope."_

I didn't want it to be true. Twilight was my friend. Or at least she had been. She was a murderer? It just didn't make any sense to me.

And they wanted me to fight her? Me? The mare who hid under the couch during thunderstorms? But, when I saw the rest of my grim-faced and heavy-hearted friends boarding the train for Canterlot, I climbed on board with them.

I shook and trembled the entire ride. I couldn't help it. The train car we sat in was dead silent. Not a single pony dared to speak up, not even Pinkie Pie. Everypony was just as scared as I was. If my friends were just as scared as me, who was left to be brave?

I didn't have much time to dwell on that thought, as we soon arrived in the empty shell that had been Canterlot. Princess Luna led us through the now deserted palace until we reached the throne room. Celestia and Cadence were dead. I closed my eyes, but I could still see the bodies in my mind. It was horrible. I tried to force them from my mind. I tried to be brave.

I couldn't.

Not this time.

Through tear blurred eyes I caught my first glimpse of the new goddess. She hadn't changed much from the last time I saw her, but something was distinctly off about her. It was her eyes. The Twilight I had known had eyes that were deep, serene, and full of life. The goddess' eyes were like glass. They looked glossy and glazed. They were like they eyes of a doll. Or more accurately, like a corpse.

_"Twilight Sparkle, you have committed crimes against Equestria, against the Royal Court, and against Harmony itself. You have made yourself an enemy of Equestria, and thus an enemy of Harmony. Prepare to face justice."_

It was time. This was what we had come here to do. I closed my eyes as the warm yellow glow of Kindness wrapped itself around me. When I had done this last, the glow had been comforting. It had soothed every fear that I held. But now, as I slowly ascended from the marble floor, I felt more afraid than I ever had in my life. What if it didn't work? Would the Elements work without Magic?

My worries only intensified as my yellow glow joined with the others. I cracked open my eyes and watched as the rainbow descended on Twilight. It couldn't have taken more than a second, yet it felt like an eternity. I held my breath in anticipation.

_"Enough!"_

That single word sent a chill down my spine. A split second later, I felt it impact me like a high velocity cannonball. The whole world went silent, then went black.

A screaming pain ripped through my lower body. The world began to fade back in. I wished it hadn't.

I heard a second loud crack, and watched as Rainbow Dash was hurled against the wall opposite me. She slumped to the ground, spitting up blood. Then, she fell face down on the floor amid the crimson puddle. She didn't move.

I closed my eyes. I could feel a pulsating pain rippling through my back legs. I tried to move them, but they felt as though they were made of lead. The only thing heavier than my legs was my tongue. Between my sobs and raspy breaths, I managed to say only two words.

_"Twilight...why?"_

My eyes, though held firmly shut, began to pour out tears. My body, though broken and bloody, trembled fiercely. I wanted to hide. I wanted to run.

Then, I felt it.

I felt a hoof upon my shoulder.

For the first time in what felt like hours, I opened my eyes. Applejack stood over me, her blonde mane stained with splotches of blood. She held a hoof to my shoulder, but didn't look down at me. I followed her eyes, and stared directly at the goddess.

Her dead eyes bore into me like a drill. My entire body went numb from a mixture of blood loss and sheer terror. Purple flashes of lightning ripped the air around her, illuminating her frame in the dim light of the throne room.

I whispered to Applejack.

_"Applejack? Are we... Are we going to be alright?"_

_"Of course we are Fluttershy. Everythin's gonna be okay."_

I looked at her face as she said those words. She had never been a very good liar.

I felt the air around me grow hot, and looked on in horror as the goddess' horn took on a bright white glow. I knew what was coming next. Applejack and I both faced our certain death, but faced it as opposites. She faced it with dignity and resolve. With her face set and eyes wide open. She faced death with bravery.

I faced death with my eyes slammed shut. I couldn't bear to watch. I could only sob softly.

I couldn't be brave.

Not this time.


	6. Traitor

So yeah, I'm the element of Loyalty. More like the element of Awesome! Fastest flier in Equestria, inventor of the Sonic Rainboom, and soon to be the fifth member of the Wonderbolts! I mean really, is there anything I can't do?

Well, enough about me for now. What you wanna hear about is Twilight, right?

When Luna told me what had happened up in Canterlot, I was freaked out. I mean, I'd seen some pretty nasty things, like Discord, Sombra, and Chrysalis, but they'd never killed anypony. Driven them insane, impersonated them, yes...but nopony ever died. It was a lot to take in for me.

And so, we all went to Canterlot. I'll skip the details about the ride there.

When we finally reached the city, Luna didn't waste any time. She took us right to the throne room. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. That was where I saw her. She sat upon what was once Celestia's throne, with the aforementioned princess' corpse resting at her hooves. Celestia had been badly mangled, but was in much better shape than her niece. Cadence had been absolutely torn to shreds. Her pink coat was splotched with rust red fragments of dried blood. In some places her flesh was bruised, in others it seemed to have been torn with surgical precision, as if somepony had slit her open with a scalpel. Most prominent however, was the fact that she had been beheaded.

Even though I now stared at the corpses with my own two eyes, I simply couldn't believe it. It all felt like some sort of twisted dream, a waking nightmare that not even the darkest corners of my fancy could conjure. Twilight had been my friend once. Once a friend, always a friend.

That's what loyalty is all about, isn't it?

_"Twilight Sparkle, you have committed crimes against Equestria, against the Royal Court, and against Harmony itself. You have made yourself an enemy of Equestria, and thus an enemy of Harmony. Prepare to face justice."_

When Luna spoke those words, I wanted to cry out. I wanted to find another way. The Elements of Harmony weren't a cure for her delusion. They were euthanasia. This was all wrong. I wasn't a murderer... None of us were. There had to be another way.

_"Twilight, please! Listen to me! We're friends! Remember?"_

She didn't respond. She didn't even look at me.

_"Please! I'm begging you! You've got to stop this!"_

No reaction. I could feel the elements tugging at me. A choking blue aura began to form around me as Loyalty took me over. It was too late now.

_"You were my friend once Twilight. You still are. I know you're in there Twilight! You've just got to-"_

Loyalty dragged me into the air now, where I hovered with the other five elements. I didn't have a choice anymore.

Then I heard it.

I heard Twilight's unmistakable voice flutter into my head. Once inside, her words pounded upon my brain like a hammer on an anvil.

_"You're trying to kill me. You're no friend of mine, traitor."_

Those eleven words broke me. My loyalty was to her, but at the same time, it was to the other five. That's the hardest part about being the Element of Loyalty. Sometimes you're loyal to both sides. I wasn't a traitor!

If anypony was a traitor it was her. It was she who had killed Celestia and Cadence in cold blood. It was she who had attempted to usurp Equestria from its rightful rulers. It was she who had betrayed our friendship. Not me.

The Elements of Harmony flared up in all their rainbow colored glory, then descended on the alicorn. No longer did I wish there were another way. What would happen, would happen. I would feel no remorse for the result.

_"Enough!"_

What happened was that the elements failed. Without Magic to bind them, the other elements were useless. Our power was inverted, and shot back at us with incredible force. I was thrown back by the blast, turning over and over through the air as I sailed. I came to a stop against the back wall of the throne room.

My entire frame was racked by the shock. My bones rattled, and some of them probably shattered. I should have been in pain. I wasn't.

I hit the floor with an undignified thud, but I rose again. I stared at the goddess from across the room. She didn't even look at me. I had a choice to make. I could turn tail and flee the scene, and escape with my life. Or, I could stand my ground and fight. I knew I wouldn't survive the battle. It was the basic dilemma of all life. Flight or fight?

I chose to fight.

With the last bit of energy in my body, I hurled myself forward in flight. All the anger, all the sorrow, all the betrayal was channeled into this one final act.

I felt the air around me compressing and compacting. There was an earsplitting crack as I accelerated towards my target. I had done it. The entire spectrum of visible color now trailed behind me.

A sonic rainboom. My final act.

I hurtled towards the goddess. Faster and faster I flew, closing the gap between us in mere seconds. I prepared to begin the battle that would be my end.

Before I could, however, I was struck across the face with the back of the goddess' hoof. I spun, then again collided against the wall. I felt my wings buckle and snap. I slumped to the ground, burbling out blood.

My last act of defiance had been in vain.

I should have been in pain.

I wasn't.


	7. Sorrow

Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!

I'm the element of Laughter! If you ever need a joke, a cupcake, or a smile, I'm your gal!

We went to Canterlot to rescue Twilight from Twilight by shooting Twilight with the elements of Harmony. Yeah, it didn't make much sense to me either. I guess Twilight had gone a little crazy again. Maybe she was tardy again?

Either way, we all went up to Canterlot to stop her. Once we got into the city, I realized that something was wrong. When Twilight had gone batty in the past, she had come to us for help first. We never needed to come to her. This time, she was so withdrawn. She was alone.

When we entered the throne room, there were two dead ponies on the floor. One was Celestia, the other was Cadence. They were both covered in rusty red dried blood. A trail of the same flaky blood lead to the hooves of my former friend. Twilight seemed no different from the last time I had seen her. Same wings, same horn, same hooves...but something was off about her. It was her posture. The Twilight I knew carried herself upright, with a natural grace and poise. This Twilight stood rigidly, as though she were a statue. Everything about the way she held herself was just wrong.

For the first time, I had nothing to say. I was too shocked to speak. Too shocked to do anything really.

_"Twilight Sparkle, you have committed crimes against Equestria, against the Royal Court, and against Harmony itself. You have made yourself an enemy of Equestria, and thus an enemy of Harmony. Prepare to face justice."_

Laughter began to well up inside of me like a fountain. It spilled out and over me, and within seconds I was surrounded by its bright red glow. Under the auspice of my element I felt strong. I knew what I had to do. I had to smile. As the rainbow of harmony descended on it's target, I grinned from ear to ear. I determined that no matter what came next, I would smile.

_"Enough!"_

The rainbow seemed to freeze only inches from Twilight. Her eyes lit up with a blinding white flare, and the five elements suddenly changed direction. Now they came hurtling back towards us, where they suddenly burst into flames and exploded outwards. The shock of it shook me, and hurled me straight back. I slammed into the marble floor, rolled over several times, and skidded to a stop. After that, the world went black.

When my eyes opened again, I was horrified by what I saw. Rarity had been skewered through the chest with a large chunk of metal. Rainbow Dash lay face down in a pool of her own blood, which was still flowing freely from her shattered skull. Luna was nowhere to be seen, but the large hole in the roof gave away what she had done. Fluttershy and Applejack lay side by side, their bodies charred and almost unrecognizable.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to cry more than I ever did in my entire life.

But now was not the time for tears.

Now was the time to be brave.

Despite the fear, the sorrow, and the pain, I smiled.

The goddess stood directly above me. She stared down at me with a glare that could have bored straight through both me and the floor on which I laid. Although I never saw her lips move, I heard her voice.

_"You're going to die you know."_

Her voice sounded hollow. Completely devoid of any emotion. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat.

_"I know."_

Her expression changed slightly. She looked perplexed. If she was, her voice didn't show it. It remained starkly and horrifyingly monotone.

_"Then why are you smiling?"_

By now, salty tears had begun to well up in my eyes. What had once been Twilight dissolved into a blurry purple blob.

_"Because that's who I am Twi. No matter what you do, it can't change that."_

Even though I could no longer see her facial features, I knew that her expression had soured. She didn't waste anymore time with discussion. Her hoof shot out and struck me in the cheek. Again, I was sent tumbling until I slammed face first into the wall. I tasted the bitter, metallic flavor of blood in my mouth. It made me want to vomit.

I spat out a mouthful of the dark red liquid, and noticed several white chunks amid the crimson. A quick investigation of the interior of my mouth with my tongue told me what they were. A searing pain ripped through my jaw. It was excruciating. The tears had spilled over now, and ran in ribbons down my cheeks.

Suddenly, I was seized by an unseen magical force and lifted into the air. My body was turned until I was face to face with my former friend.

_"I'm going to ask you again. Why are you smiling?"_

I was done talking. They say that actions speak louder than words. I looked the goddess dead in the eyes, and smiled with broken teeth.

She punched me again.

And again.

And again.

Blows rained down on me in torrents. Twilight continued to hammer her hoof against my face until it was scarcely more than a jumbled mass of blood and bruises. Yet, despite the pain, all her assault did was strengthen my resolve. No matter how bloody or mangled it became, my smile never faded. Finally, with a disgusted grunt, she slammed me into the floor again.

By this point, it was painful for me even to breathe. This was the end for me. With my last, labored breath, I raised my head from the floor and uttered one last phrase.

_"Ha, ha, ha."_


	8. Greed

Good evening.

My name, in case you don't know yet, is Rarity. You should, however, know my name from my many famous fashion pieces. I was quite the designer. I was also the former element of Generosity, until I was so rudely ended by my former friend.

I'm guessing that you're here to hear about that? Good. Then I'll cut to the chase.

We had attacked Twilight with the Elements of Harmony. Needless to say, it didn't work. I had come prepared to see the elements fail, however. Trying to use the elements without Magic was like trying to make a dress without thread. You could lay out the pieces and arrange them in a beautiful pattern, but if you tried to make use of your creation, it would crumble. That's exactly what happened to us.

Twilight was the element of Magic, and thus, the thread which held harmony together. When she separated from harmony, we crumbled. She reversed the power of the elements, sending our rainbow hurtling back at us in a blast of smoke and flames. We were thrown from our hooves, and scattered about the room like unwanted rag dolls.

I hit the floor chest first, and I swore I felt several ribs crack upon impact. I should have been in pain. I wasn't.

With the elements rendered inert, we were out of options.

Somepony had to stand up and face Twilight.

I rose to my hooves.

Fluttershy was whimpering. Applejack was against a wall bleeding. Rainbow Dash was dead. Pinkie Pie was laying on the stone stone floor, her tiny frame badly battered and covered in bruises. Only myself and the Princess of the Moon remained.

She looked at me.

The look in her eyes said more than words ever could have.

Luna's eyes were heavy, and misty with tears. Her eyes told me that she had to fight, knowing that she could never taste victory. No, her battle would be one of obligation. A fight that she must enter, even though her odds were zero. She was our princess. One of two remnants of a race of goddesses. She was the paradigm that we all were to follow.

Even if it meant we followed her to our graves.

Without speaking, she turned her eyes from me, and back to Twilight. Instantly, her tears seemed to fade. Her eyes became stony and resolute. If I had been able to see my own face at that moment, I would had realized that my eyes had done the same.

Though in life I had been a seamstress, I decided here and now I would face death as a knight. It might sound silly, or perhaps a bit Quixotic, but what other choice did I have? I would not die with dishonor. I intended to go down fashionably.

Twilight looked up at us. My body began to tremble. Her eyes locked with ours, and she spoke. It was the first time in months that I had heard Twilight's voice. I immediately missed the silence of the throne room.

_"Tell me Princess, why do you still fight? You know you can't win."_

_"I fight because I know I'm the only one who will."_

A loud crack of thunder punctuated Luna's words as a streak of lightning suddenly sprang from her horn. The bolt shot through the air, bound for the usurper's skull. Twilight lifted a hoof, and the lightning instantly dissipated. Then, she turned to me.

_"And you Rarity, why do you fight?"_

My blood ran cold. I stared back into the lifeless black holes that were once her eyes.

_"I fight because there's nothing else I can do. You've already killed all of my friends. All I can do now is fight for them."_

_"Very well."_

My friend turned enemy lunged for me, only to be intercepted by Luna. The Lunar Princess took a wild swing with her hoof, and tried to clout Twilight across the cheek, but to no avail. Her hoof froze mere inches from her foe's face.

Twilight tilted her head slightly, and Luna's foreleg cracked. This time however, simply breaking the limb was not enough for the usurper. What followed was a horrific grinding and crackling sound. I put my hooves over my ears, but I could still hear it. The noise made me sick, and I am ashamed to say that I vomited on the spot. It was then that I realized that I must have been bleeding internally, perhaps as a result of my surely broken ribs.

Luna was suddenly hurled aside with such force that she broke through the brick wall of the throne room. I heard a distinctive meaty thud in the courtyard below.

I stood there for what seemed like hours, hooves over my ears, shivering and whimpering like a scared filly. I was alone.

Only two ponies remained, myself, and the goddess.

Somepony had to stand up and face Twilight.

I rose to my hooves.

My quivering ground to a halt. I clenched my teeth, and stared back into those lifeless black eyes. Silently, I began to weave a spell.

Compared to my foe, I barely had an inkling of magical training. It didn't matter. This wasn't a fight I intended to win.

My eyes spotted a piece of metal on the throne room floor. It was a broken piece of the building's iron frame, knocked loose when Luna was sent through the wall. I took hold of it. A fitting sword for the impotent knight. I charged towards Twilight, unleashing everything I had in a final scream.

Then I blinked.

In the space it took my eyes to open and shut, my enemy had torn the blade from my grasp and rammed it through my chest.

I had been stabbed in the heart.

A very fashionable death indeed.


	9. Godhood

I recall reading a phrase in one of Celestia's dusty old tomes.

"If the gods are for us, then who can be against us?"

Well, based on the simple law of inversion, then the inverse of the phrase must also be true.

"If the gods are against us, then who can be for us?"

Everypony is special. We all have some sort of talent that sets us apart from others. Some are skilled at music, or gardening, or shoemaking...just about anything can become a ponies special talent. Yet, every once in a while, a pony comes along who shows real promise with their talent. A talent like magic.

I was the first to be blessed with such a talent since Starswirl the Bearded. His skill had long been held as legendary, record setting. Then I came along and shattered those records. I was good.

Nay, I was better than good.

I was godlike.

I say god "like" because I still lacked the official title of a goddess. My skill and power however, was already equal to that of an Alicorn. Perhaps I had even surpassed it by this point.

I had power, but I was still nothing. I was still a student to Celestia, whom I fawned over constantly. I longed to understand her magic, to learn from her. So, in return for my lessons, I served at her beck and call. When she was kidnapped by Nightmare Moon, it was I who lead the effort to rescue her. When Discord was awakened, she tasked me with finding the stolen elements and defeating him. When the Changeling Queen reared her ugly head and tried to seize the power in Canterlot, I witnessed the god I had so lovingly served do battle with her nemesis.

She was thrown down in less than a minute.

The paradigm I had so long upheld, and strove to become, lay before me shattered on the floor. She had seemed so strong, and yet, I had witnessed her fall. It shocked me to the core.

What shocked me even further, is that she played no part in defeating the Changeling Queen. That honor went to myself, my friends, and the bride and groom. I had long been staring at Celestia as the ultimate being. A perfect goddess, who I would study under and one day succeed. I had placed her upon a marble pedestal, and even now I could see cracks forming in the stone.

Then came the reappearance of the Crystal Empire. As expected, my teacher did not accompany us. In fact, she didn't do so much as lift a hoof to help us. We conquered Sombra by ourselves. Upon return however, I was given the offer of a lifetime.

I was given the offer to become a goddess.

All my life I had dreamed of such an offer. To join the likes of Celestia, Luna, and Cadence in the great pantheon of Equestria. I was to not only become immortal, but I would finally unlock my true potential. My whole life, I had been promised that one day I would reach the top. That I would one day be the best magician Equestria had ever seen. My day had come.

I took up their offer in a heartbeat.

I felt as though a pressure had been lifted from me. It was as if my whole life, I had been kept inside a locked box. Everything about me had been contained. My mind. My knowledge. My magic. Now the walls that had once boxed me in were torn down.

My mind?

Opened.

My knowledge?

Expanded.

My magic?

Unlimited.

I felt stronger... I felt like a goddess.

I thought this would be the beginning of a new golden age for myself. I thought that now, my long years of training beneath the wings of Celestia had paid off. I thought that I would now be free, as Luna and Celestia were. I thought that now I would be a ruler, as they were. I had never been more wrong.

I may have been imbued with the wings and powers of an almighty goddess, but now I served the role of a slave. Every pony all Equestia over seemed to require my assistance. Whether it was a friend who had betrayed them, a magic spell that simply refused to be cast, or an argument over who owned a certain plush pony doll, it was I who had to answer the call. The domain of Celestia and Luna was the heavens. The domain of Cadence was love. My domain was "magic". While the other three goddesses spent their days in the comfort and luxury of Canterlot, I toiled day in and day out among the masses. I flew from Canterlot to Appleoosa to Ponyville solving the problems of the populace.

It seemed that every pony required assistance from their new goddess of magic.

It had begun to drive me mad. Dealing with the issues of my best friends had been difficult enough. Now I was expected to solve the problems of every pony everywhere. I was being spread far to thin. My entire existence was to fly about like a mad pony fixing every problem, big or small. I was not the goddess of magic. I was merely a slave to its whims.

I requested to Celestia that I be given a kingdom of my own. I would have my own subjects, my own towns, and a border on my influence. I would be restrained from having to skitter over all Equestria, solving every single problem that ponykind could throw at me. I finally had a limit. I would only be spread as far as the walls of my kingdom. It was refreshing to think that I would finally be able to relax.

I was granted the kingdom that I deserved, but it all felt wrong. During my days of wandering Equestria solving problems, I had felt a something I had never felt before. I felt power. I felt a sense of dominion over those ponies. I had been a goddess to every pony in Equestria. Now, I was nothing more than a princess in a tiny kingdom. I realized that I had placed myself back into the same box that I had escaped from with godhood. I resolved that I would no longer be contained.

For too long I had been the student of Celestia. I had served her faithfully, although I had witnessed her defeat. I knew just how impotent she truly was. With my promotion to godhood, I had been made her equal... nay, I had been made her superior. I resolved that I would never again be contained. I was a goddess. I deserved far better.

I returned to Canterlot's palace for the first time in years to take part in a trial. A pony I had once known, the "Great and Powerful" Trixie, had returned to Ponyville and retrieved the Alicorn Amulet. She hadn't caused any trouble with it yet, but the artifact was considered contraband, and thus her mere possession of it was a crime. She had been brought before the Royal Court to face justice.

It was justice that I advocated. After all, I was the element of magic. Shouldn't I be the one to decide what magic the mortals could use? I believed the amulet should be turned over to me for safekeeping in my kingdom. The others refused. They all proposed different solutions, but I turned them all down. This was a matter for me to decide, not them. Did I interfere with the sun, the moon, or love? So why did they interfere with magic?

The meeting was adjourned, and Celestia took me aside. She spoke to me as though I was still a filly. I would not be contained any longer. In a fit of rage, I unleashed the full force of my magic. Every window in the hallway shattered beneath the power I exuded. I caught every single shard, and sent them hurtling into my teacher. Seconds later, I stood over her corpse.

It was... Exhilarating.

I'd never used magic in such a way before, nor with such force. I felt powerful once more.

Cadence attempted to avenge her fallen aunt. I broke her forelegs and made her kneel before me. Then, I beheaded her with the same glass I had used to slay Celestia. I had felled two gods. I had unleashed my true potential at last.

Luna tried to resist me as well. However, she fared far better than her sister. She managed to escape with her life. She fled the palace, and fled Canterlot. I chose not to pursue her. Her intentions were as clear as day. Luna was no coward. She was hardly a match for me on her own, and she knew it. Her only logical course of action was to find a way to match my power. I knew then what she planned to do. She intended to rally the other Elements of Harmony against me.

It was a clever idea, but one that was doomed from the start.

The other element bearers were rallied, and converged upon Canterlot to face off with me. They managed to activate the elements, summon the rainbow of light, and unleash Harmony upon me. And yet, for all their power, they were still inferior to me.

I broke their assault with a single spoken word.

_"Enough!"_

The rainbow they had intended to kill me with was twisted back towards them. As the element of magic, I was in control of it after all. I hurled it back at my former friends, and willed it to explode. In the battle of wills, mine pitted against the might of Harmony, mine triumphed. The collective might of all five elements burst out in fire and smoke. The six who faced me were thrown back. I assumed this was the end.

I was wrong.

They had lived. This was an error I could easily remedy.

Applejack and Fluttershy lay together on the stone floor. With a simple heating spell, the same kind I had used to boil water in the past, I incinerated them.

Rainbow Dash managed a sonic rainboom in close quarters. A truly impressive feat, even for a pegasus as skilled as her. I merely slapped her off course. She hit the wall and split her skull.

Luna closed in on me, intent to kill. I broke her legs, then ground the bones until they were no more than gravel. Then, my slap came back around, as I hit her with the back of my hoof.

Rarity made a ludicrous charge at me with a chunk of metal. Her efforts were laughable at best. I teleported the distance between us, and rammed her impromptu sword through her heart.

Pinkie Pie put up the longest resistance, and laughed the whole way. While infuriating, she was not above death. She fell beneath a torrent of hoofbeats that reduced her to a bloody pulp.

As the last of my former friends fell into death, I breathed a sigh of relief. The throne room became quiet and peaceful again. I was at last alone to reflect upon my actions. I knew I should feel remorse. I had slain my teacher, her sister, my sister in law, and all five of my closest friends. What did I have left to live for?

Magic.

I strode out upon the balcony that Celestia had once stood upon as she raised the sun. Igniting my horn, I cast my spell. The sun rose over the horizon. With a second spell, I smote it with the moon in a lunar eclipse.

Ponykind now had only one god.

A great, monstrous goddess who had slain all others in a quest for power.

But I was the goddess they had asked for.

I was the monster they made.


	10. Chaos

I stared at the sky as the sun rose. The moon soon blotted it out, snuffing out its light as if it were no more than a candle.

This seemed like the sort of mischief I would cause. Yet, this time I was not responsible. The thousands of disjointed gears in my mind began to churn. Something had caused this chaos, and I was determined to find the party responsible.

With minimal effort, I teleported myself up and into the Canterlot throne room. I stood amid a veritable sea of blood, entrails, and other such ichor. It reminded me of the days of old, when I had been master over ponykind. The days in which my talons had slain countless equines, for nothing more than my own pleasure. Those days were long gone. I had reformed since then. Back then, I would have gazed upon this scene with joy. Now, it just made me feel sick.

I began to walk the length of the room, picking out faces I recognized among the dead. There was Princess Celestia, one half of the royal duo that had first overthrown me. What she had done to me was unjust. She should have killed me, and yet her mercy stilled her hoof when she had the chance. There was Cadence, who had overthrown the Changeling Queen with her husband. Now both she and her aunt lay upon the floor, their bodies still warm on the cold stone.

I saw Rainbow Dash, the self proclaimed fastest flyer in Equestria, and Rarity, the finest seamstress in all the land. There was Pinkie Pie, who's cupcakes I had sampled on many an occasion. There was Applejack, one of the strongest earthponies I had ever encountered. There was Fluttershy... I could hardly stomach the sight. She had been the first to believe in me. The one who's kindness had touched my heart of ice, and melted it with the heat of compassion. Now she lay before me, her body still smoldering. Her flesh had been blackened to a crisp, her soft mane incinerated.

Who could do such a thing?

Besides myself of course.

What sort of devil had slain so many, without cause or provocation?

I assumed it was the same being who had smote the sun with the moon.

At the end of the hall, standing upon the balcony, was a single figure. She stood with her face away from me. A pure black form silhouetted against the piercing white corona of the sun. Based on outline alone, I knew it to be an alicorn. As she turned her head, I caught a glimpse of her eyes. Those were the same eyes I had looked into as my flesh became stone. In a moment, I stood face to face with Twilight Sparkle.

She was beautiful. Her form was tall, slender, and elegant. Her mane flowed like a waterfall of pinks and purples, all rippling in a nonexistent breeze. She looked much older now, so different from the child I had faced off with in my past.

She was terrible. Flecks of dried blood splattered against her hooves and coat. Her eyes now seemed vastly different. They were the eyes of a twisted mind, perhaps one to rival my own. Yet, whereas my chaos sprang from a lust for pleasure, hers seemed to stem from cold, calculated logic. Those were the eyes that I had seen before on Celestia, when she had battled against my rule.

I looked into those eyes, and said the only thing I could.

_"Why did you do it?"_

She didn't reply to me, at least not with words. Her voice entered my mind directly.

Showoff.

_"It was what needed to be done. They were sloppy and inefficient, filled with bureaucracy and disharmony. Now that I've ended them, Harmony can rule once more."_

_"You're a monster."_

She decided that our talk was over at this point. She blitzed across the room, and swung for my jaw. That might have worked on others, but not on me. By the time she struck, I was at the end of the hall.

_"They won't submit to you."_

She swung again, and this time, I caught her hoof in my claw.

_"They'll never accept you as a goddess."_

Twilight imbued her hoof with more force. It was enough to push me a few paces back.

_"They won't have a choice."_

She tore down one of the pillars and cast it at me. I touched it, and it exploded into a million multicolored marbles.

_"You've lost your marbles Twi."_

She didn't take too kindly to my pun, and proceeded to hammer me with a torrent of blows. She was stronger than she looked. I felt my bones shatter, then reform, then shatter again. So this was the true power of magic. With a wave of her hoof, she hurled me across the room. I landed on my feet with ease.

I realized this was not my battle. When I had rejected the law and order of the world, and plunged it into chaos, it was Harmony that mended the wounds I had dealt. So it had been in every generation. Harmony always triumphed over her usurper. So it had been, so it would be.

_"They will never love you as they once did."_

The student struck at me again. She struck only air.

_"You can't force them to love you Twi."_

She glared at me with dead eyes.

_"You cannot force them to love you, not with all the power you wield. They do not love you for your power, they fear it. They see you the same way I do. They see you as a monster incapable of understanding the truth of magic."_

At this she spread her wings, as brilliant shafts of purple lightning cracked through the throne room.

She was beautiful, yet terrible.

_"I do not use magic. I **am** magic!"_

With a smirk, I gave her my reply.

_"No. You're not."_

I managed to issue one final phrase before I vanished from her sight.

_"Friendship is magic."_

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

Hello. This chapter was rather unplanned, but has been rattling around in my mind for days now. So, I added it as a bonus for all my amazing readers out there. There are two people out there who have given me a lot of feedback on these chapters, and a lot of encouragement. No names will be given, but you know who you are GV and DH.

I also would like to take this time to announce that there is a sequel in the works for this story. So for those of you who enjoyed the strange style of writing, the grim atmosphere, and the idea of a world now ruled by a crazy, broken Twilight Sparkle with the strength of a god, you'll probably get a kick out of this one too.

While it obviously won't be the same as this one (especially since I'm practically out of characters to slaughter) it will have many of the quirks and ideas that this one used. The sequel story will be called, "Memoirs in Ink and Blood" and will focus on the world as a whole after Twilight has become ponykinds only goddess.

Please, comment and tell me what you think. I would love to hear some feedback on these things.

-Corah Il Cappo


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